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Saturday, 12 September 2015

September 27, 2015 the Castle Picking Party in the city of Groningen, Netherlands will celebrate 5 years of annual musical fun and friendships made by musicians and music fans from several countries.

Producers Hans Kelderhuis and Ben Wiltjer have announced it will be the final picking party in its current format. Major changes will take place for next year's edition. Such a thing can be expected when such a successful event evolves. The news will be announced at this years gathering.

As in the past, there will be jamming throughout the day and early evening inside and outside the 3 levels of the Castle. A unique formal concert setting is located on the top floor for those wishing to take a break from playing and listen to a Dutch bluegrass band or two. It is a beautiful room resembling a small cathedral.

All acoustic instruments and voices are welcomed.

This is a free public event. While there is no admission, donations dropped into the little guitar placed near the concert space are welcomed. Please help cover the costs with your contribution.

Speaking of contributions...

Please bring something to contribute to the food table. Hot and cold dishes, breads, fruits, desserts -- these are all most appreciated. Musicans and listeners get very hungry!

A full lineup of beverages are available from the Grande Caféat the concert hall entrance.

'Castle Picking Party' jams start at 13:00.

The first concert performance begins at 14:30 with Stringtime (based out of Groningen). Whiskey Rose is traditionally the final band and will carry on with that tradition again this year. They will perform until 20:20, at which time the party is over until next year. By the House Rules -- all jamming must end before 21:00.

Thursday, 10 September 2015

This multi-cultural music and performance festival will present a bluegrass program in the Dutch city of Emmen (in the province of Drenthe) on Saturday, September 12, 2015. The bluegrass portion of the festival is based on the book "High Lonesome Below Sea Level: Faces and Stories of Bluegrass Music in the Netherlands".

[For those not yet familiar with it, this is the first book written about the bluegrass genre scene in Holland by Loes van Schaijk, with beautiful photos by Marieke Odenkerk. It is written in English. In the past several months since its release the book has received high praise from scholars and reviewers around the world.]

2015 Boete'n Deur Festival in Odoorn, NL

This event is presented in cooperation with Silvia Fledderus who produces the long-running annual music series and festival "Boet'n Deure" at thePoolshoogte sitein the forest area of Odoorn, Netherlands. Sylvia's father, Lambert Schonemaker, ran this series since 1997 and she recently accepted the responsibility of continuing this excellent program when he retired as the promoter/producer. This is Holland's only outdoor bluegrass event. It is free for the general public, sponsored by donations and local funding.

A number of Dutch and American musicians will attend, perform, and jam at this 'festival' in the city center of Emmen. The authors of the book will also be present. The "High Lonesome" stage is located on the lawn under the trees at the Emmen Town Hall ("onder de bomen bij het gemeentehuis", in Dutch). This location is walking distance from the train station.

This is short notice, but an event worth mentioning. The weather prediction is good, and Emmen is not far from Germany and Belgium. It should be a great day of music, friendship and a chance to buy your copy of a quality bluegrass book about the scene in Holland directly from the authors.

Of course, in the familiar tradition unique to bluegrass -- Bring your instruments for jamming!!

Friday, 4 September 2015

The EBMA is delighted to announce two new support programmes - one for Youth Scholarships and the other for bands that have EBMA membership.

The Youth Scholarships are for aspiring young musicians and singers to be able to attend camps and workshops in Europe and the USA. Applications are now open and details can be found on the EBMA website. Because of the high demand we have already reserved a place at Sore Fingers in the UK and at Robert Della Vecchia's Acoustic Guitar Workshop in Italy ...is one of these for you?

The Band Support Programme is in conjunction with the new category of EBMA band membership. The aim is to aid EBMA member bands with their recording projects, publicise their concerts and activities, and promote them with organisers and festivals across Europe and the USA. As with the Youth Scholarship programme, more details can be found on the Support Programmes page on the EBMA website.